The Wounded Dog
by treblegnome
Summary: Dying Sandor Clegane is found by a woman who needs his help as much as he needs hers.


The Hound gritted his teeth in pain, waiting for death to come to him. Arya was gone, she had left him to die without the mercy of a quick death. It seemed to him that death would never come. He drifted in and out of consciousness, each time hoping it would be the last. He did not think of himself as an honorable man. He knew why Arya hated him. Yet, he didn't see himself as evil either. He had done what was needed to survive. No more and no less. If only death would take him soon...

The hound opened his eyes to see a woman staring down at him. The sky moved above him and he realized a wagon was moving beneath him. He didn't remember being put in a wagon, he wondered how she had managed to move him. He struggled to rise and see who else was with her. Gently, she pushed him back down.

"You must rest, Clegane. I have given you milk of the poppy to ease your pain. Rest, we will be to my cottage soon."

The next time he awoke it was inside her cottage. His wounds were stitched closed and the woman was cooking something over a fire. She turned and saw he was awake.

"You must be hungry. You have been asleep for almost four days. I've made stew." She brought a bowl to his bedside.

Sandor ate quickly, he was indeed very hungry. "Thank you." He said passing the bowl back to her. "Who are you? Where am I?"

"I am Lady Elaina of House Kane. My husband died in battle fighting for Rob Stark. His brother turned me out of my house and brought in his own family. He gave me this cottage on the Kane lands to live in."

The Hound had heard of house Kane. It was a very old house, no longer prominent, but it was among the Stark bannerman. He also knew that it wasn't unusual for younger brothers to take on their older brothers place in the castle, no matter how unfair it might be to the widow.

"I found you two hours ride from here and hired out a wagon to bring you here to care for." Elaina went on.

"Why? Why not just let me die?" His question was genuine.

"I don't know...maybe I was just lonely." She returned to the fire, getting a bowl of stew for herself.

"I'm not exactly the best of company. You should have just let me die."

Elaina shrugged. "Let me be the judge of that." She came back to the bedside and ate her stew, the Hound lay back on his pillow and fell asleep. The next time he woke, it was dark and Elaina was sleeping beside him in the bed. He watched her sleep for a little while. She had long light brown hair, a petite frame and pale skin. He knew that her eyes were bright blue and her teeth were straight. She was quite beautiful in her own way. She had to have known that even in his wounded state he could overpower her, why did she trust him enough to sleep next to him? Elaina opened her eyes and saw him staring. Unlike other women he had known, she did not run away. He hadn't paid her to stay or to care for him. Her very presence was utterly confusing to him. She reached across the bed and took his hand, holding it tightly, she closed her eyes again.

Morning came and Clegane dragged his wounded body out of bed and went to the privy. Elaina was already gone, probably outside feeding the chickens he'd been hearing. He was wearing only pants so he began a search for his shirt, boots, and armor. The door squeaked as Elaina came back inside. He turned to face her.

"You shouldn't be up." She told him.

"I'm fine. I just need my clothes and I'll be one my way."

"No you won't. You wouldn't last a day. You're still injured." She placed a basket of eggs on the table and moved to turn back the covers on the bed.

"I've travelled injured before. I can take it."

"Perhaps you can. But I intend to see you get fully well. Now, back to bed." She said insistently.

"Seven hells woman! Just give me my clothes!" He took a step towards her and pain shot through his ribs, doubling him over. Instantly, Elaina was at his side, arm around him, she helped him back to the bed.

He slept less that day so Elaina took time to read to him. He found that he liked the sound of her voice. The stories didn't matter, just the sound of her low gentle voice was comforting. When night came, she didn't wait for him to fall asleep, she simply climbed into bed next to him.

"What are you doing?" He asked warily.

"I am sleeping. This is my bed after all." She stated.

He stared at her wide eyed, unused to such boldness from a Lady.

"Don't worry, I promise not to take advantage of you in your wounded state." She told him.

He laughed and found it hurt his ribs and stopped. "I make no promises not to take advantage of you."

"I thought as much, though you can hardly rape the willing..." She said.

"You should fear me woman. I've raped plenty of whores.. the ones who couldn't look at me after they were paid. I've done violence to men in battle that you can't even imagine. You shouldn't have helped me and you certainly shouldn't sleep next to me."

"I've heard about the things you have done... and I have been raped before, it is not among my greatest of fears." She reached out and touched his scared face, her gaze unwavering, something no one had ever done before.

Perplexed and touched by her affection, he turned away and faced the opposite side of the bed, soon falling asleep.

Late in the night Clegane awoke again and found that Lady Elaine had moved close to him on the bed. She lay with her head on his chest and her arm around him. The wetness on his skin and the puffiness of her eyes told him that she had been crying while he was asleep. He'd never had a woman cry on his shoulder before. He'd never had a woman want him for comfort. Most women found his scars repulsive. A few were afraid of him. The only ones willing to touch him had to be paid to do so. Elaina's willingness to be near him was still baffling to him. Still, some part of him didn't want her to be sad. He picked up his arms and put them around her, embracing her. He hoped she wouldn't mind.

The next day the Hound was able to spend less time in the bed. He was unsteady on his feet but was at least able to walk and even help Elaina with a few or her daily chores. She brought him his clean shirt and a pair of walking shoes that must have been her husband's. At night she joined him again. This time he made no comment.

The following morning Sandor woke up laying on his side to find that Elaina was awake but had not yet gone to feed her chickens. She was in fact still on the bed, still in his arms, staring up at him looking worried. Startled, he let go of her quickly.

"Don't let go..." She whispered to him, almost pleading.

Swallowing, he put his arms back around her. She snuggled closer to him and before he knew what was happening she was kissing him on the lips. The kiss was unexpected but not at all unwelcome. She was a beautiful woman after all and he could feel every inch of her figure underneath the thin nightgown she wore, her body pressed close to his. As her kissing grew more passionate he took her by the shoulders and gently pushed her away. He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed.

"What? Why did you stop me?" Elaina sounded hurt.

Sandor sat catching his breath for a moment before answering her. "What do you want from me?" He finally asked. "I know there must be something because women never seek to be with me...if you think that I have lands or status to replace what you've lost, you're wrong...I have nothing...nothing to offer you...so what is it that you want from me?"

"All I want is for you to stay with me. I don't want to be alone anymore or afraid.." A few tears slipped from her eyes. "My brother in law will kill me when he finds that I'm pregnant with an heir to the Kane lands..."

Gregor stood and turned to face her. "You thought you'd seduce me into risking my life for you?"

"No, I thought I would sleep with you and find comfort for a little while. I just want to forget everything..."

"Plenty of men travel the roads past this cottage. Why me?" He said more gently this time.

"You think that I can not want you because of your scars...you are strong...just being near you I feel safer...and your eyes are kind. I have had a muscular shirtless man sleeping in my bed for seven nights. Believe me, I do want you...no strings attached...just you..."

The Hound stared at her, a little shocked by her words.

"Are you coming back to bed or not?" She asked him. He didn't hesitate. Soon both of their clothes were off and he was on top of her and inside her. The pain from his wounds no longer mattered. All that mattered was that this woman wanted him of her own free will. She was the first woman who was able to look into his eyes, touch his face, without his demanding that she do so. Being with her was a level pleasure he had never known before. When it was over she clung to him and continued kissing him, something the brothel women never did. It was then that he noticed her scars. Her body was covered with scars, whip marks on her back, horrible large burn marks on her legs and belly.

"Seven hells!" His eyes grew wide. "Who did this to you?" He ran his thumb across a large scar on her stomach.

"Alistor." She whispered. "My husband was never home. In the ten years we were married he was away traveling for almost all of it. He came back a few times for a fortnight only to leave again for two or three years. The last time was three months ago before joining up with Rob Stark...while he was away his brother Alistor tormented me. …" Elaina was shaking, trying to hold back her tears. Clegane could see from the sheer number of scars that she had indeed been tormented. Something inside him was filled with rage. Lady Elaina was a kind woman. She was no Cercei. She certainly did not deserve years of torture in her own home.

"And your husband did nothing to stop his brother from doing this while he was away?"

She bit her lip. "My husband didn't care... he said that if Alistor hurt me then I must have deserved my punishment..."

"I will stay with you." The Hound heard himself saying. "I'll see to it that he doesn't hurt you again."

Elaina was overcome with tears of relief. She slid closer to him and allowed him to wrap his arms around her, taking comfort in his embrace. He ran his hands along the scars on her back.

"I'll have to kill him if we stay here..."

"We don't have to stay here. I could come with you as your wife."

"I told you, I have no lands or wealth to offer you." He said, unsure if she still wanted something from him.

"I don't want lands or wealth. I only want to be with you."

"I'm not exactly the marrying kind."

She gave him a look. "What's the matter? You don't want to share your bed with a woman every night?"

"It wouldn't be like that. Wives always make excuses. They have headaches and illness and send their husbands away to the brothel."

"Some do I suppose." Elaina conceded. She brushed her hand across his chest and moved closer kissing his neck longingly. "And some wives are more amorous than others."

"How amorous?" He breathed as her hands made their way down his body and inside his pants.

"Very..." She kissed him. "Sometimes two or three times a day I need to pleasure myself."

He kissed her in return, his tongue inside her mouth, his arms holding her body close. Their passions building, she was soon on top of him as they lost themselves in intoxicating bliss.

Several days passed. The Hound continued his recovery at the Lady's cottage and she continued to be as amorous as she claimed to be. He grew to care about her in those few days time, even to love her, though he wasn't ready to admit that out loud yet. She cooked his food, tended his wounds, made him laugh, and shared his bed. He chopped her firewood, repaired her chicken barn, and allowed her a sense of safety that she had never known.

One afternoon the two sat at her table eating a lunch of bread and chicken when they heard a horse approaching.

"Alistor!" Elaina said wide eyed. "It's about time he came to see me."

The Hound grabbed his sword from on top of the mantle where Elaina had left it for him. He went to the door, throwing it open, he waited sword in hand for Alistor to appear on the road. The horse galloped into the yard and stopped several feet from the door. Alistor stared at the huge man blocking the doorway.

"She doesn't want to see you." Clegane told him unblinking.

"You must be the Hound. I've heard about your ugly scars." Alistor replied.

"What do you want?"

"I want to speak to my sister in law." The smaller man said.

The Hound glanced behind him at Elaina. She came to the doorway, staying behind him. "I'm here. Speak to me."

"Alone." Alistor said.

"No." Clegane said. "You will never speak to her alone again."

Alistor laughed somewhat nervously. "I don't know how you've done it sweet sister, but it seems you've gained the loyalty of the hound. I don't expect I could tangle with a man of his reputation and survive, at least not alone. So... the next time I come for a visit, I won't be alone." He turned his horse and galloped away.

Behind him, Elaina was trembling. Clegane dropped his sword and turned to hold her. "He will be back with ten or twenty men." She told him, still shaking.

"I told you I will keep you safe. I intend to see that through."

"You can't fight twenty men alone..."

"I could...or we could leave. We could marry and take a cottage on Clegane lands. It isn't much...but..."

"I would be happy with that. When should we leave?"

"Right away. He might rally his men and come straight back here."

They packed quickly, gathering food and other essentials. Elaina had only one horse so they had to pack lightly. They went straight to the nearest village and found a septon to marry them, then they took the road towards the Clegane lands. The third night as they camped out in the woods Elaina awoke with a sharp pain in her belly. She tried to muffle her cry of pain but it was too late, the Hound was already awake. The blood pooling around her on the ground made it clear what was happening. Her new husband held her close through the entire miscarriage. He said nothing, no words of comfort, but just having him near was enough.

"At least Alistor has no cause to kill you now." He told her in the morning as she tried to clean the blood stained blankets.

She nodded in response.

"It isn't too late for you to change your mind, to be free of me." He went on.

She turned and gave him a look. "Free of you? Are you daft? I didn't come with you or marry you or sleep with you only to gain your protection. I want to be with you wherever you are. I want to have your children and grow old with you. I love you. What will it take to make you believe that?"

The Hound swallowed, trying to hide his emotion. He couldn't believe that this woman had such an effect on him. "I believe you...and...I love you."

She smiled, knowing full well how hard it had been for him to say those words. She knew not to expect to hear them often. Not from a man such as him.

"Will your brother ever take a wife?" Elaina asked him as they traveled the next day.

"I doubt it. He knows nothing of women. If he took a wife she would never be happy."

"Then if we have a child...he would be the heir...and your brother would become a threat..."

"I suppose that's true. But I'll kill him if he ever tries to hurt you...or maybe I'll just kill him anyway."

They settled in their cottage on the edge of Clegane land without anyone's notice. The Hound stayed away from all news of the war and of the battles for the iron throne. Kings no longer held his loyalty.

Three months later Elaina was sure that she was went out to the barn in search of her husband. She found him removing the feathers from a freshly slaughtered chicken. He held it up when he saw her coming.

"Supper?" He asked.

She smiled, taking the bird from him by the feet and stood on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. He put his arms around her, pulling her body close to his. She sighed softly, enjoying the sensation of his muscular arms around her and his tongue in her mouth. With one quick motion he took the chicken from her hand and placed it on a barrel next to them. Still kissing her, he picked her up and set her on the rail of the nearby stall. She wrapped her legs around him and soon he was inside her. He held onto her tightly to keep her from falling over the rail into the stall. She wasn't worried about falling anyway. He would never allow her to be hurt. He would die before he ever let anything happen to her and she knew that. They ended up on the floor of the clean stall, covered in hay. He had learned over the past few months to stay with her afterwards. He had also discovered that he wanted to stay with her afterwards, that he enjoyed the kisses and the closeness as much as she did. She began to giggle between his kisses.

"What?" He pulled away with a half grin.

"The hay is tickling my back." She laughed.

"Is it now?" And he began to tickle her even more. She made an attempt at tickling him back but he was far stronger and she soon became the sole victim of tickling. The two of them were laughing so hard that neither of them heard the horse trot up.

"Well now, has the dog been fucking his bitch in the barn?" The voice was the elder Clegane, Lord of the estate. He sat astride his horse just outside the stall.

The Hound stood, helping Elaina to her feet. She half hid behind her husband, frightened of her new brother in law even more than the old one.

"This is my wife, Lady Eliana of house Kane."

"If you think, that putting a baby in her belly will give you rights to house Clegane, you're wrong. I can just as easily find some bitch and make my own heir."

"Go ahead. I'll not try to stop you. I don't care about the fucking Clegane lands or any fucking titles. Just get out of here and leave us in peace..."

"Why else would you take a wife if not to usurp a Lordship?"

"Maybe he just likes to fuck me." Elaina put in. The Hound was a little surprised at her language.

The elder Clegane began to laugh and to their relief he turned his horse around and rode away.

The hound turned to his wife. "I'll not leave you alone now that he knows you're here."

"Why? What will he do?"

"I don't know...rape you...burn you...anything that he thinks will hurt me too."

"We could leave here..."


End file.
